Never Be Ashamed
by dantesdarkqueen
Summary: It's not easy, being Sephiroth's son. Akalara, however, isn't going to let bullies bring her son down. Fluffy little family fic. Better summary inside.


**Summary: **It's not easy, being the son of Sephiroth... And what mother can merely stand by while her son is picked on by schoolyard bullies?

**Disclaimer: **Square Enix owns Seph and all other canon characters, I own Akalara, Azrael, and all OCs. Well, except Kandi and Brit. They belong to Amazon and izzy.

**Queen's Quornor:** Just finished bawling my eyes out over Advent Children again, so I wanted to write something that comments on Seph's good points. There were people who cared about him, and there still are; he's not the monster so many think he is. Besides, Amazon and I have discussed the possibilty of Azrael getting teased before, and I figured it was high time I worked it into a fic. Gets really fluffy towards the end. Plus, there's a cameo-location in here from one of AmazonTurk's fics, "Part of Life." Any guesses as to what it is?

Never Be Ashamed

"_Finally!_ I never thought I'd get finished with this thing!" Akalara signed her name on the mission report with a flourish, then sat back and crossed her arms smugly, looking over the finished report. She had spent most of last night trying to kill one of the kingpins in Old Midgar, a greasy bastard from Junon who had come in and set up camp in the Sector 4 slums. After disguising herself as one of his luetinants (whom she had offed to protect her cover), she had finally infiltrated his base. That done, she had gotten into the air vents and sniped him while he was 'busy' with a prostitute. His little girlfriend would be blamed for his death and probably end up 'disappearing', but Akalara held no sympathy for her. That particular prostitute had been tagged by the Turks for assassination anyway, for her role in the failed attempt on the President's life a few days ago.

Bitch wouldn't have known a proper car bomb if it had walked up and bit her on the ass.

Her mission had been only to eliminate the kingpin. Without him, the entire network would cave in as his luetinants and seconds all fought over it, each trying to take his place without any support from the others. And if, by some miracle, one of them actually succeeded...

Well, she had no issue with offing bastards like them. Less drugs on the streets meant less addicts and death via overdose. It meant there would be less temptation for Azrael later on, when he got older.

In the end, that's what she was working for. A better future for her son, safer streets than the ones she grew up on. She was sworn and paid to protect Rufus, but Azrael was the one she was fighting for.

The green-haired Turk stretched and glanced at the clock, relieved that it was almost noon. She hadn't been able to grab more than a cup of coffee for breakfast, and she was _starving. _Hopefully the cafeteria was serving something good today.

She'd have to ask Kandi. If her friend was staying here for lunch, it meant whatever was on the menu today was okay, if not good. The red-streaked woman rarely ate in the cafeteria if they were serving crap. Besides, she needed someone to eat with. Her partner, Brit, had been assigned to shut down a group of hotshot teenagers in Edge. These teens had a nasty habit of stealing cars, tearing them apart, and then selling the parts. To Akalara's knowledge, Brit wasn't supposed to kill them. Just get them thrown in the slammer for a good long time.

As she stood up and went for the door, report in hand, her phone rang. Dutifully, the green-haired woman went and picked up the receiver. "Akalara speaking. Whatcha want?"

"Akalara, there's a call for you on line three. It's from a Principal Torvis, at the Shinra Educational Facility."

"Thanks, Anne." Suddenly concerned, Akalara hit the extension. "Hello?"

"Ms. Forrest?"

"Speaking."

"I am calling to inform you of an incident involving your son."

Akalara had to sit on the edge of her desk. 'Incident' could mean just about anything! "What happened?"

"Azrael started a fight on the playground, and seriously injured one of his schoolmates. Could you come in for a discussion, please?"

"Of course. I'll be there right away." The Turk hung up the phone and shot out the door. She would ask Tseng for the rest of the day off when she handed in her report. If Azrael had been in a fight, she wanted to find out why!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

When Akalara walked into Principal Torvis' office, she was confronted with the sight of Azrael sitting in one of the chairs before the desk. He refused to look up when she came in. Beside him was a sandy-haired boy, pressing a wad of bloody Kleenexes to his nose. Fawning over him was a middle-aged woman in a fashionable purple dress, her brown hair tied up in a French twist. Between sickening coos aimed at the injured boy, who was obviously her son, she shot hate-filled glares at Azrael.

Akalara already hated her.

Principal Torvis, a beefy bald man with glasses, nodded to her as she stood behind Azrael. "Ms. Forrest, I would like you to meet Mrs. Jayne Nadair and her son, Ethan. Mrs. Nadair, this is Ms. Akalara Forrest."

"I want that boy expelled!" the indicated woman declared. "Bullies like him should not be tolerated in the school-system! Just look at what he did to my little boy!" She forcefully turned Ethan's head, displaying the bloody nose and numerous bruises covering his face, including a split lip and one black eye.

Akalara ignored her. "What happened, Mr. Torvis?"

The principal sighed. "It seems that young Ethan here was making some comments to Azrael about Sephiroth, following the history lesson they had prior to recess. Azrael retaliated by throwing a punch, and the teachers watching the playground had to break up the fight."

"I don't see why he was so offended. My son was in the right; Sephiroth was a monster and the planet is better off for his death!" Mrs. Nadair sniffed, looking down her nose at Azrael. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that boy was another of his remnants. He certainly looks like them."

Akalara fought her temper down. She was used to people bad-mouthing Sephiroth, but that didn't mean she liked it. Hearing her son insulted just added fuel to the fire. "I would not be so sure about that, Mrs. Nadair," she said softly. "He was not always like that."

"Oh, and you knew him personally?" she sneered.

"As a matter of fact, I did. I worked at the Shinra building prior to Meteorfall, and had several interactions with him. Sephiroth was never anything but polite. Certainly not a monster, as you claim." Akalara glared at the other woman, silently daring her to say anthing further about the man she loved.

Jayne seemed to take the hint. "I still want him expelled. Freaks like him should not be allowed around innocent children."

Principal Torvis saw the storm in Akalara's cranberry eyes and stood up in an attempt to head it off, but he was a little too late. The green-haired woman had already stalked over to her counterpart, allowing her to see the fury on her face. "Repeat that," she demanded softly.

Jayne chose to ignore the lethal anger in the Turk's voice. "Freaks like him should not be allowed around innocent children. And he is a freak, Ms. Forrest. Normal children do not have silver hair or red eyes. Although..." She coolly looked over Akalara, taking in her dark green hair and the eyes that matched her son's. "I suppose he gets it from his mother. You don't look so normal yourself."

Akalara heard Azrael get up and come around to her side, likewise glaring at the older woman. "There's nothing wrong with my mother!" he snapped.

"And there is nothing wrong with my son. He is not, as you so succinctly put it, a _freak_."

"Ladies..." Torvis called, attempting to break up the potential catfight. Neither mother paid him any attention.

Jayne snorted and tossed her head arrogantly. "What is your standard of normal then? Because you certainly don't meet mine. Let me guess: next you'll be telling me he's Sephiroth's son?"

Akalara felt her son's arm snake around her waist, and he leaned against her; she put her arm around him soothingly. "I'll have you know that his hair is actually black. He asked to dye it silver."

The Turk felt her temper rise higher as Jayne rolled her eyes. "So he wants to be like Sephiroth, does he? Great; in about twenty years we'll have another silver-haired monster trying to destroy the planet. And just like his hero, he'll die a terrible death, again and again."

Cranberry eyes narrowed. Azrael's arm tightened around her. Torvis reached out to stop her. Akalara, however, had already drawn one of her guns. Jayne went deathly pale as it was pressed against her head. "Keep talking, bitch." Her voice was quiet, but full of rage. "I have license to kill and I'm not afraid to use it."

Jayne flicked panicked eyes to the principal, who shrugged weakly. "She is a Turk, Mrs. Nadair."

"Are we through here?" Akalara asked, still glaring at the older woman. "I did not come here to listen to myself and my son be insulted like this. Especially not in a building owned by my boss."

"Quite through. Azrael and Ethan will both receive a reprimand on their transcripts, but your son will not be expelled, Ms. Forrest."

"Good." The green-haired woman reholstered her gun inside her jacket. "Thank you, Mr. Torvis. I'll be taking Azrael home, now."

As the pair left the office, they could hear Jayne demanding that charges be brought against Akalara, and Torvis informing her that no charges could be made, since she was a member of the Turks.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Akalara purchased lunch at the Burger Queen drive-through and drove back to her apartment. Azrael refused to speak, and she hadn't wanted to press him yet.

Right at the moment, she was curled up on one end of the couch and he was on the other, silently eating their lunches. The green-haired woman stared at her cheeseburger for a moment, then regarded her son. "Want to tell me what happened, Az?"

He didn't reply.

Biting her lip, Akalara went back to her lunch, exchanging her burger for the chicken ceasar salad she had ordered in place of fries. She had a strong suspicion she knew what had been said, but she wanted to hear it from her son's mouth.

After a few minutes, he finally spoke up. "Ethan said Father deserved more than he got. He said he should have been tortured to death, slowly. He said everything was his fault, all the stuff that happened with Shinra and Deepground. He said he was nothing but a monster, a freak, and that he got off easy." Azrael didn't look at his mother. "The worst part was, everybody agreed with him. Well, not Andi or Ax, but..."

Akalara closed her eyes, feeling her heart clench. "I know. I've heard it all, too."

The silver-haired boy turned to face her now, and there were tears in his dark red eyes. "Mom, why doesn't anybody believe me when I say they're wrong? Father wasn't really like that, was he?"

She held out her hand, and Azrael took the hint, sliding down the length of the couch to lean against his mother's side, beneath her arm. "Don't ever believe your father was a monster. He wasn't. The people who say those things about him only believe what the media has told them; they don't know the whole story, and they probably wouldn't accept it even if they did. They'll only believe what they want to believe, no matter what we tell them." Azrael climbed into her lap and leaned against her chest; Akalara put her arms around him and gently stroked his shoulder-length hair. "It doesn't matter what they think, in the end. We know what Sephiroth was really like. We know none of it was his fault."

"What if it was, Mom? What if they're all right, and you're only deluding yourself?"

She looked down at him, shocked. "You've spoken to him, haven't you?" At his nod, she continued. "Sephiroth was many things. He was never, however, a murderer. Jenova made him that way. She took over his body, and used it as she wanted. She's the one who wanted to destroy the planet, not Seph. Why would he want to destroy something he already saved once before?"

Azrael said nothing.

"Don't be ashamed of your father, Az. He was a good man, and a loyal friend. He was a protector, not a killer. He'd be here with us if Jenova hadn't possessed him."

"But what am I supposed to tell people when they ask who my father was? If I play dumb, they think I don't have one and you're just some kind of slut." He raised his head, cranberry eyes sincere. "That hurts just as bad, Mom. Hearing you slandered like Father, I mean."

Akalara sighed and offered her son a small, sad smile. "You could tell them the truth."

"But you said..."

"Things have changed, Az. Nobody's taking you away from me, now. So you could be honest, and tell people that Sephiroth was your father." She brushed some hair away from his eyes, her fingers combing through the silver locks gently. "It won't be easy, if you do. People will say even worse things, right to your face. They may even try to hurt you; a lot of people still hold a grudge. It's up to you, to tell them or not." The Turk coaxed his head back down, holding him in her arms comfortingly. "But even if you don't, never feel ashamed that you are Sephiroth's son. Be proud of your heritage, and of your father. He is as much to thank for Cloud's victory as Cloud himself."

"What do you mean?"

Akalara smiled, still holding him close. "As powerful as Cloud was then, Jenova was more powerful still. She could have easily destroyed him if she attacked first. But Cloud said it was almost as if Sephiroth was waiting for him, remember? Jenova didn't get to attack because Seph was fighting her, harder than ever." The Turk closed her eyes, feeling the familiar presence of her love around her. She couldn't see him, but he was there all the same. "He knew what was at stake. He knew what would happen if Jenova beat him. He bought Cloud just enough time to kill his body, and Jenova with it. If he hadn't, Aerith might not have succeeded, and we all might have died.

"Your father is one of the unsung heroes of the Jenova War. He's as much to thank as Zack and Cloud are. So don't feel ashamed of him; he gave up everything so you and I could live."

Azrael didn't say anything, but she felt him nod once.

_Am I right, Seph? Or did I just tell our son a really big lie?_

_Are you sure you weren't there with us, Ak? _She heard his familiar deep chuckle ring throughout her head. _That's exactly what happened. _

_I told you I knew you inside and out. _

_So you did. _She felt the pressure of strong arms around her upper body, the weight of a head resting atop her scalp. But when she looked, there was nothing there. _Thank you for understanding, and accepting. _

_I can't hate someone I love. _

_I know. And I can't abandon somebody I love._

_I know. _

For one perfect moment, the three of them were together: father, mother, and son. More than anything, Akalara wished it could be like this all the time, as it should have been...

But she would take her comfort where she could, and treasure moments such as these forever.

_I miss you, Seph. _

_I'd change it if I could, Ak._

_Wait for me. We'll be together again someday._

_I'm not going anywhere without you. You know that. Take care of our son._

Akalara swallowed, feeling the familiar pressure fading. _I love you, Seph._

_I love you too, Ak. _

She would look after Azrael, and Sephiroth's legacy. Someday, the history books would be changed.

People had to learn the truth. About Sephiroth's greatest victory.

_I promise. _


End file.
